


External Resources (The Silent Partner Remix)

by skieswideopen



Category: Fringe, The X-Files
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 13:44:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4182030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skieswideopen/pseuds/skieswideopen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Olivia doesn't trust the other side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	External Resources (The Silent Partner Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wendelah1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendelah1/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Threat Assessment](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1140150) by [wendelah1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendelah1/pseuds/wendelah1). 



> Set after _Fringe_ episode 4.02, "One Night in October."

"Aren't you just a little suspicious of them?" Olivia asked when Broyles told her the news that full disclosure was the new order of the day. "They tried to destroy our universe."

"I'm aware of that," he said, "and I'm not happy about it either. But they _were_ acting in self-defense."

"Still--"

"I know you don't trust them," Broyles said. "And it's understandable. You have more reasons than most to doubt them. But tell me, do you honestly think we would have acted any differently in their place? If it had been our world that was being destroyed, don't you think we would have done whatever it took to save ourselves?"

"No," she said, and meant it. She would have fought for both sides to survive, or died trying. One of the many, many differences between her and the other Olivia. "And I also wouldn't have kidnapped my counterpart and stolen her entire life."

"Maybe not," he agreed after a moment. "But their attempt failed, and now we're on the same side. Officially."

She caught the tiny emphasis he put on the word and felt a surge of hope. "And unofficially?"

"Officially all FBI and other government agents need to cooperate with the other side, apart from our standard counter-surveillance measures. To do otherwise is to risk what is currently a very fragile peace."

All government agents. All _government_ agents. "I understand."

The shapeshifters solidified her opinion. They might not have been official attack, but there was clearly some faction on the other side that could not be trusted. People they needed to keep an eye on. An unofficial eye.

In retrospect, the choice was obvious once it occurred to her. Someone used to acting alone, with minimal support. Someone who could accept the truth of what was out there without breaking down or denying it. Someone with the courage to act if action were required.

The McClennan incident was her opportunity. She knew after talking to McClennan that he wasn't a threat. Broyles knew it too, but he could only push back so hard.

"They aren't seriously thinking of locking him up?" she asked, distraught. "All he did was help us."

"I know, and after a great deal of persuasion, I've convinced them that it's premature to assume that his memory loss will inevitably lead him to take the path of the other John McClennan. They're going to keep him under surveillance until they're sure."

"And how long will that take? A month? A year?"

Broyles looked away, silent.

"The rest of his life?"

"They asked the BAU for their opinion. Their reply was that they're profilers, not psychics. They don't want to make a prediction for fear they'll be wrong."

"Then we need to find someone who will. Someone they'll listen to."

He looked interested. "Do you have someone in mind?"

Conveniently, she did. 

Olivia made a point of arriving at the bar early. She knew Mulder would probably read into that, just as he'd read into how she buttoned her suit and wore her hair and what she drank. It was the danger of working with profilers, especially one skilled enough to earn the nickname "Spooky."

She could have deliberately thrown him off. Unbuttoned her jacket. Gone home and changed into jeans. Maybe switched to the military-style fatigues favoured by the other Olivia. But she wanted Mulder to know her, wanted him to trust her. She would need that trust if things worked out the way she hoped.

On the other hand...it _was_ the end of her shift, and it wouldn't do to have him think she was too rule-bound. She ordered a Scotch and settled in to wait.

She spotted Mulder the moment he entered the bar. A quick glance told her that he looked a little older than the pictures in his FBI files--more worn around the edge--but otherwise he looked good. Healthy. Well-rested. She could feel him giving her a similar once-over and pretended not to see him for a moment, focusing on her drink to give him time.

If she were completely honest, Olivia would have to admit that she was a little excited at finally meeting the infamous Fox Mulder. Not just for his work as a profiler, though that was certainly what he was best known for--they still taught some of Mulder's cases at Quantico--but for the work he'd done afterwards. The work that most people didn't know about.

She'd spent three weeks soaking up Mulder and Scully's cases in every spare moment she had. Afterwards, she'd hunted down some of the people who'd known him, the ones who were still in the Bureau, trying to learn a little more about this man whose footsteps she and the rest of Fringe were following in, but with far more official support than he'd ever received.

As it turned out, most of them knew something about what Mulder had done after he left the BAU, largely because he hadn't been terribly secretive about it. His former colleagues had mostly fallen into one of two groups. One group, the slightly larger, saw Mulder's career progression as proof that he'd finally gone around the bend. The second group saw it as a tragic waste of a great talent. The word "genius" had come up. So had pitying looks. None of them knew the details of what he'd worked on; just that he took the cases no one else would touch, and that those cases rarely seemed to result in the kinds of arrests that led to upward movement in the Bureau. Even most Fringe Division agents didn't know who he was, as she'd discovered when she tried talking to them about his work. 

Olivia been impressed by how much Mulder had managed to do, given the minimal support he'd received. He'd stopped an alien invasion. Or at least delayed it enough for cooler heads to intervene. (It had been a hell of a shock, reading about how close they'd come. She'd actually run it up the chain to make sure that the Consortium had really and truly been taken care of. It had taken her six weeks of arguing before they'd finally given her access to the sealed files. Paper only, and no notes allowed, although that wasn't much of a limit to someone with her memory. A trait she shared in common with Mulder, according to his file.)

Mulder came over almost immediately, apparently analyzing her as quickly as she'd analyzed him. She liked his direct look and firm handshake. Professional, and he hid his annoyance at their admittedly out-of-the-way meeting location quite well. He was less circumspect about his annoyance at the largely blacked-out, mostly useless file he'd received. Not that she could blame him. It hadn't been her idea to pass along the redacted file, but Fringe Division hadn't exactly been eager to give full access to McClennan's file to a civilian consultant. Even one who was a former agent. Just getting them to agree to bring Mulder on had been a challenge, and she wasn't sure she would have succeeded if Mulder's old boss Skinner hadn't also put in a word for him. Skinner had no idea what Fringe Division did, of course, despite his involvement in the original X-Files, but he and Broyles were old friends. Plus, she had the impression that he'd wanted to give Mulder the work. Because he liked the man, or because he felt sorry for him? Maybe a little of both. She wondered how successful his consulting business was. And how hard it had been to switch to that after so many years with the Bureau.

"AD Skinner didn't ask for you. I did," she told him, and his expression was a story unto itself. Confusion, yes, but also hope. The hope of a man who'd been forced to abandon his life's work, and who hadn't quite resigned himself to never getting a second chance. 

She wondered if she could convince him to substitute a new mission for the old one. Had all that work and all those sacrifices been driven by his desire to find or avenge his sister? Or had there been a larger purpose? A willingness to look beyond, perhaps. A desire to help people. Olivia thought it might be the latter, given the array of cases he'd worked on, and if so...well, first she had to see if he was still any good. Then she had to get him to trust her. It had been a long time since the FBI, and they hadn't always treated him well. She'd have her work cut out for her, if she decided this was the way to go.

She could tell he didn't really believe her when she told him that the alien colonists were no longer a pressing concern. That was fine. The groundwork had been laid, and later on--when they'd had more time to get to know each other, if they had more time to get to know each other--he'd think back to this and remember. She hoped. 

First, though, she needed to see how he did with McClennan. She needed to know if those skills that had catapulted him to the top of the BAU were still sharp.

The FBI couldn't act against the other side. Not without potentially starting a war. And there would be people watching her, making sure of that. If it turned out that they were up to something, she was going to need someone who could act undetected. Someone who could be brought up to speed quickly and adapt to what he was told. Someone who could do what needed to be done.

In the end, Mulder accepted the assignment, as she'd thought he would. Not because he was interested in McClennan, though she thought he'd found the full file compelling, but because he was interested in her. He didn't trust her yet, of course, but there was time for that. In the meantime, maybe he could do John McClennan some good--she'd been telling the truth when she said she thought people would listen to Mulder's analysis. They might not respect his work on the X-Files, but his work as a profiler had been impeccable, and there was nothing spooky about McClennan. Well, at least nothing that would affect Mulder's analysis.

Later, they could see.


End file.
